This invention relates to apparatus for forming void-fill packaging, and to a method of using the apparatus and the material.
Void-fill packages, such as air-cushion packages, are well-known. They are used in parcels to help protect the contents from shock and damage, and are inserted into spaces or voids which exist between the contents and the sides of the parcel.
Void-fill packaging is created using a roll of tubular plastics material which is preformed with transverse perforations. Separate pieces of apparatus are also used to form, between the perforations, transverse and longitudinal heat seals by which a fluid discharged into the tubular plastics material is held therein.
The use of a plurality of discrete machines to preform the perforations and to form the transverse and longitudinal heat seals leads to a decrease in productivity and an increase in associated costs.
The present invention seeks to overcome this problem.